Web browser-based version 9 introduces some minor functionality additions to the marketing automation suite such as the ability to launch campaigns from the command line, and a browser-based format view, plus some administrative advances including single sign-on support to integrate with NT domain security, and support for web services via SOAP and WSDL.
However, the additional intelligent marketing functionality is reserved for the Xchange 9 EDM Option that includes a customer behavior recognition engine that provides the ability to observe customer data drawn from multiple sources, look for changes to the state of the customer, and launch the appropriate piece of direct marketing via the Xchange 9 platform.
The company said the EDM module addresses the question of when is the right time to make an offer to customers because it identifies patterns of behavior that suggests a customer is a good candidate for communication and pinpoints the correct time to send it.
This is the first substantial move the Boston, Massachusetts-based company has made since it reverted to private ownership in May 2002 following a particularly torrid financial period when revenue dropped from $15.8m in the quarter ending March 2001 to just $6.4m for the 2002 quarter, even though losses also fell from $20.3m to a more manageable $5.7m over the same period.
The release will boost confidence in the company indicating that it is still investing in R&D, although as a small company with a turbulent financial history it must still remain a candidate for acquisition by broader-based CRM players that are boosting the marketing-automation capabilities of their own suites.
Source: Computerwire
